Lake Elsinore, Murrieta make small gains in state testing

The Murrieta and Lake Elsinore school districts made small gains
on state standardized test scores, and the Perris Union district
notably improved its average score, according to data posted
Thursday by the California Department of Education.

The department released the latest round of Academic Performance
Index test results on its Web site for districts that did not have
scores available in late October, when the Temecula and Menifee
districts' numbers were released along with most of the schools
around the state.

The test results measure whether schools have improved from last
year, and the state has set a target score for each school of
800.

The Murrieta Valley Unified School District's average score
moved up one point, from 795 to 796, and Lake Elsinore Unified
upped its score four points, from 684 to 688. Perris Union High
School District boasted an average 18-point gain with its score.
The averages for Temecula Valley Unified and the Menifee Union
School District have not changed since October. They are 807 and
750, respectively.

Measuring success

As part of the state's student achievement accountability
program, schools are given an API score ranging from 200 to 1,000,
based on various standardized test results from last year. The
index offers parents, potential home buyers and school
administrators a look at whether schools have improved scores from
last year.

The scores are one of several factors presented in annual
progress reports by which a school's compliance with the federal No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is judged. That law promises to
punish districts and schools that fail to meet federal performance
standards on the state's reading and math tests.

Schools that do not meet the 800 benchmark are expected to
improve each year by 5 percent of the difference between the
previous year's score and 800.

When the scores statewide were released in October, it was shown
that nearly two-thirds of California's schools improved
academically last year, but half of the schools failed to meet
their targets.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell had at
the time characterized the results as disappointing, but stressed
that overall, California's public schools are still improving.

"While our schools continue to grow, their rate of improvement
has slowed," O'Connell said. "Frankly, this is unacceptable and I
know, and educators around the state know, that we can do
better."

Murrieta Valley Unified School District

One Murrieta district official Thursday echoed O'Connell's
statement.

"Satisfaction leads to complacency and we are not satisfied,"
said Guy Romero, director of assessment research and academic
projects. "Our mantra for this year is a recommitment to the
standards."

Fifty-five percent of the district's schools met their API
growth target, according to state data.

Most of the district's elementary schools either gained or lost
just a few points, but moderate dips in the scores at Avaxat, E.
Hale Curran and Tovashal elementary schools can be chalked up to
teacher error, Romero said. Teachers at those schools read out loud
a passage they were not supposed to, which means the tests are
marked as "far below basic," skewing the results, he said.

For Murrieta Elementary School, where all of the fourth-graders
were affected because of the same situation, a score was not posted
at all, he said.

"It was an honest mistake," Romero said. "It was not an attempt
to cheat."

Two of the district's middle schools posted gains, but Warm
Springs Middle School dropped 29 points, from 808 to 779. Romero
attributes that to eighth-graders there taking the math test for
the first time.

"The other two middle schools … have tested eighth-graders, and
they are much more mature," he said. "Warm Springs Middle School is
a very new school with new kids. Once staff has been there for a
while, the scores will increase."

As for the district's high schools, Vista Murrieta posted a 766,
but did not have a growth score because it is too new. Murrieta
Valley lost 7 points, dropping from 736 to 729.

"That was a shocker, we had them at 749," Romero said. "When 729
came out, we wondered, 'What is going on?' We expected it to be at
plus 13."

As it turns out, the state now marks low scores for students who
don't take the test, rather than not counting them at all, Romero
said, adding that district officials were unaware of the new
rule.

"The absences are killing us," he said. "Now that we know the
rules, this year there is going to be a huge emphasis on getting
all the makeups completed."

Lake Elsinore Unified School District

In the district north of Murrieta, the Lake Elsinore Unified
School District, 58 percent of the schools met their API growth
target.

The gain is a tribute to the district's hard work, but there is
always room for improvement, said Claudette Beaty, assistant
superintendent for educational services.

"Standardized testing is a snapshot," she said. "Where the
scores have gone down, we will be looking extra hard at the
data."

All four of the district's middle schools posted substantial
gains. Brown increased its score 22 points, to 672 from 650; Canyon
Lake added 14 points, to 690 from 676; Elsinore Middle gained 19
points, to 629 from 610; and Terra Cotta went up by 21 points, to
728 from 707.

But the scores of both of the district's high schools dropped.
Elsinore High School's score dropped from 630 to 619, and Temescal
Canyon's score went from 654 to 646.

Beaty said district officials had a feeling that changes needed
to be made at the high schools, which is why late last year the
district board voted to change the high schools' schedules from
longer block schedules to the traditional six-period school
days.

"While we believe the scores are not great, we do believe it
validates the board decision in December," Beaty said.

As for the district's elementary schools, they post a hodgepodge
of scores, with extremes from a 73-point gain at Elsinore
Elementary, which registered 682, to a 52-point drop at Railroad
Canyon, which scored 642.

"Railroad Canyon did have a change in their attendance area, so
it may be still adjusting to serving a different student
population," Beaty said, adding that officials are working with
campus educators to revamp instructional programs at the
school.

Paloma Valley High School

Paloma Valley High School in the Perris Union district showed a
21-point gain. Its score went from 725 to 746.

Jim Smolenski, the school's principal, said he is thrilled.

"I think that our teachers have been adept at understanding the
California content standards and the curriculum with those
standards," Smolenski said. "That's a big piece."

He added that "teachers are doing a good job of teaching and
kids are doing a good job of learning."

Editor's Note: The Academic Performance Index scores
for Temecula Valley and Menifee school districts were released in
late October. The average API score for Temecula was 807, and the
average API score for Menifee was 750. For further information
about the two districts' scores, visit
www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/10/29/news/californian/22_20_0710_28_04.txt.
You may also visit the California Department of Education's Web
site at
http://api.cde.ca.gov
.